As processing power, memory capacity, and data bandwidth increases, there are limitations on computing efficiency under a single operating system (OS) instance. In the server space, one answer has been virtualization, which allows many OS instances to share the resources of a few large physical servers. However, for many consumers, this high level of computing power may not be necessary. Smaller processors that provide good performance at lower cost can be used to disaggregate the OS instances onto many smaller servers, a concept called physicalization that can be an alternative to virtualization for smaller data centers.
Certain server applications, such as video streaming, may be suitable for physicalization due to relatively high input/output (I/O) bandwidth requirements coupled with relatively low processing power requirements. However, existing blade servers based on virtualization may not be well suited for these applications, as these blade servers may have higher processing power than needed along with limited I/O bandwidth across the few large physical servers. In addition, the cost of processors and system components for traditional server applications tends to decrease more slowly than the cost of processors and components for high volume consumer applications. Thus, there remains a need in the blade server space for compact, low cost, high data throughput computer modules that incorporate highly integrated consumer processors and system components for applications such as video streaming.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the server blade described herein.